Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #19524 in Books
• Published on: 2008-01-25
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 368 pages

BBC History Magazine, December 2003
"..provides an able and often vivid summary of our knowledge.."

Review
”…meticulously documented throughout…essential reading…” (Medicine Conflict and Survival, Vol. 21(4) October 2005)

"astonishing account...Kinzer, a New York Times correspondent...tells his captivating tale with style and verve". (Library Journal, June 15, 2003)

"...He does so with a keen journalistic eye, and with a novelist′s pen...In what is a very gripping read." (The New York Times, July 23, 2003)

"...Kinze who has written an entirely engrossing, often riveting, nearly Homeric tale, which, if life were fair, would be this summer′s beach book." (The Washington Post, Sunday, August 3, 2003)

"...lively popular history...brisk, vivid account.... Kinzer...offers a helpful reminder of an oft–neglected piece of Middle Eastern history". (The New York Time Book Review, August 10, 2003)

"...For those who like their spy data raw, the CIA′s secret history is now freely available, thanks to a leek..." (Economist, 15 August 2003)

"a thrilling tale that pits two characters worthy of a movie against each other." (Economist, August 16, 2003)

"entertaining and sometimes shocking...serves as a useful reminder that troublesome regimes do not come out of nowhere." (Business Week, Aug. 18–25, 2003)

"...Kinzer′s book offers a cautionary tale for our current leaders...not all such changes go according to plan..." (The Scotsman, 16 August 2003)

"...a new book about the coup All the Shah′s men...recalls some unwelcome parallels(with the Gulf War)..."(The Guardian, 20 August 2003)

"...a topical subject with an explanation..." (Greenock Telegraph, 29 October 2003)

"...provides an able and often vivid summary of our knowledge..." (BBC History Magazine, December 2003)

"...an astonishing achievement, a thriller backed by meticulous research, a political analysis in artful prose..." (Irish Times, 25 December 2003)

"this skilled correspondent and analyst writes this so effectively is one of the many reasons why this incisive critique is so relevant today." (Ray Locker of the Associated Press)

The New York Times, July 23, 2003
"...He does so with a keen journalistic eye, and with a novelist's pen...In what is a very gripping read."

Customer Reviews

A good read
I found this book a very interesting read. This is particulary good for those who would like to have a crash course of Persian history. The facts presented in the book can certainly help to understand some of the problems of Middle East and inside Iran in a historic point of view. The only downside of the book I've found was the mistakes in Persian names and locations. Although they were few but perhaps a better review by some Persian speakers could have prevented them.

Excellent history and good thriller
Kinzer writes an excellent book. A good history of Iran precedes the actual details of the CIA sponsored coup in 1953. The actual coup reads like a John Le Carre Thriller.

The irony of America overthrowing a democratically elected government and replacing it with a dictatorship is considerable given their current activities in "bringing democracy to the middle east".

Kinzer draws a line from the '53 coup through the '79 Iranian revoloution to Hamas, Hezbollah, and the destruction of the World Trade Centre that is probably a little tenuous. But his analysis does show why America has so many problems with trust and image in the Middle East.

Simply Superb
I cannot recommend this book highly enough. Simply the best non-fiction I have ever read. If you want to understand the background to the geo-political climate of the world today, read this book. The credibility of the author represents an objective account of history if ever there was one within this subject. As an added benefit, the story itself is gripping.